Schizophrenia is a disorder that holds a lot of stigma, especially due to the portrayals of this disorder in the media and entertainment. In this blog, we will explore this condition and its causes and symptoms in order to help better understand it.
What is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that can be characterized by phases of delusions, hallucinations, and psychosis.
This disorder is extremely rare, affecting only about <1% of the population in the United States. Schizophrenia affects both men and women fairly equally, however it has been found that the symptoms start earlier for men (late teens-early 20s) than women (early 20s-30s).
There are also many misconceptions about this disorder. For example, it is a common misconception that people with schizophrenia have multiple personalities or "become" different people, however this is not the case. Schizophrenia is an entirely different disorder than something like dissociative identity disorder. It is also believed that people with schizophrenia are always violent and dangerous to be around, but that is also a myth. It is true that sometimes a mental health condition can cause an individual to become violent, but that isn't always the case, even with schizophrenia.
Symptoms:
The most common symptoms of schizophrenia include:
Hallucinations (hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, pr tasting something that isn't there)
Delusions (having beliefs that have clear evidence of not being true)
Paranoia (extreme distrust or beliefs that someone is harassing you)
Psychosis (losing touch with reality and having trouble figuring out what is real and what is not)
Negative symptoms: characteristics that are abnormally not present (lack of motivation, social withdrawal, trouble showing emotions or feeling pleasure, catatonia, etc.)
Trouble with/abnormal cognition/thinking
Other abnormal behaviors (in speech or movements)
Drug/alcohol problems are also commonly prevalent in people with schizophrenia, as well as other diseases such as heart disease.
Treatments of schizophrenia can include antipsychotic medications, different types of psychotherapy, or coordinated specialty care programs (which help people who portray the early stages of schizophrenia like a first episode of psychosis).
Causes of Schizophrenia:
Studies are still being conducted to find the true cause of schizophrenia, but as of now, the exact cause of the disorder is unknown. However, there are risk factors which may heighten the risk of developing the disorder, which include these three main categories according to the National Institute of Mental Health:
Genetics
Environment
Brain function and structure
Schizophrenia may be genetic, meaning that many different changes in different genes could cause the disorder, and the disorder could run in families. Environmental factors such as poverty, stress, and being exposed to viruses or nutritional problems before being born along with these genetic factors can also increase the risks of developing schizophrenia. Researchers have found that some people with schizophrenia have different sized parts of the brain and different wiring in the brain that could be a cause of the disorder, however, there are still studies trying to better understand how brain structure relates to schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is another mental condition that has many misconceptions and is very stigmatized by the public. Hopefully we can learn more about this disorder and take more strides into research about the causes of this disorder.
Sources:
“What Is Schizophrenia?” Psychiatry.Org - What Is Schizophrenia?, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia. Accessed 28 May 2023.
“Schizophrenia.” National Institute of Mental Health, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia. Accessed 28 May 2023.
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